Quote:

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Originally posted by G:
I'm a fan of longish, 2 actor scenes - the actors & writer(s) really get a chance to show their chops. The scene with just Saffron and Mal, toward the end, where he is being pretty forthright with her and she is being her usual self. Perfectly illustrates who they each are and will be:

INT. SHUTTLE II - DAY

Mal pushes buttons, engages autopilot (either burned in graphics or a voice saying as much), and heads to the back as he straps on his holster, back to normal.

Saffron sits on a crate, facing away from him, sullenly ignoring the welling in her eyes.

MAL
That must've been tough.

SAFFRON
Yeah, have yourself a great guffaw.

MAL
I mean it. Six years, you knew he
was holding such treasures, you
didn't move on him. I gotta figure
that's a job you told yourself you'd
never take. Till times got hard
enough, and the one line you hadn't
crossed...

SAFFRON
(turning, fierce)
My name's not Yolanda.

MAL
Never entered my mind that it was.

She looks away again. Her tone at first is worldly, bitter -- but there is clearly more underneath.

SAFFRON
I tried. I actually tried. I
thought, "this is a decent man. The
genuine article."

MAL
A working man, struggling to get by
with the barest necessities on his
private floating island...

SAFFRON
Yeah, he had money. I thought it
would help. That if I had
everything... I wouldn't want...

MAL
Heinrich the Security Programmer?

SAFFRON
You know, I'd forgotten his name.

MAL
Addressing the itch of curiousness,
you marry him too?

SAFFRON
No. I didn't kill him either.

MAL
I don't reckon you've killed many.
Just put 'em in a position to die
easy.

SAFFRON
I should've killed Durran.

MAL
Right. The one guy that don't have
it coming. The man who knows you and
still loves you, treachery and all.
Can't have him walking about.

She does start crying now, balled up, not making any move toward Mal.

SAFFRON
You must be loving this.

MAL
Little bit. I seen you without your
clothes on before. Never thought I'd
see you naked.

She looks up at him with genuine pleading in her eyes.

SAFFRON
Can people ever change?

MAL
Depends on the person. I'm guessing
the pain of this fades away, you'll
just go back to being what you are.

SAFFRON
(small voice)
What is that?

He squats before her, takes her chin in his hand.

MAL
(not unkindly)
A brilliant, beautiful, evil double
crossing snake. Cheer up, weepy:
you've earned yourself a boatload of
hard cash today. You can question
the meaning of life on a floaty
island of your own for a while.

SAFFRON
You won't tell anyone about me
breaking down?

MAL
I won't.

SAFFRON
Then I won't tell anyone how easily
I got your gun out of your holster.

He looks down.

MAL
I take that as a kindness.

They rise, her with the gun pointed at his belly.

SAFFRON
You just may be the most gullible
fool I have ever marked. And that
makes you special.

MAL
You can riddle me with holes,
Yolanda. Won't make what I just saw
anything but truth.

SAFFRON
(almost convincing)
I played you. From minute one.

MAL
You got me at barrel's end, who am I
to argue. What's your move?

SAFFRON
We'll be settling down in the desert.
Leave you to set a spell. Oh, and
speaking of naked...

MAL
No, now that's just low. SAFFRON
Kinda evens things out, don't you
think? Pants.

She cocks the hammer, he starts undoing his trousers.

MAL
Don't really see the benefit in all
this. However I slip, you're not
gonna catch my crew with their
trousers down.

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